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Raleigh, N.C. — Construction crews working on the Fortify project on Interstate 440 east of downtown Raleigh are nearly finished installing lane closures that will allow workers to begin the massive overhaul of the highway, state Department of Transportation officials said.

Warmer weather coming in the next few days will help Granite Construction workers complete lane closures and a traffic shift on I-440 East from U.S. Highway 64/264 to the Interstate 40/I-440 split.

Over the next several days, construction barrels blocking two travel lanes will be replaced by concrete barriers, establishing a traffic patter on I-440 East that will be in place until at least May, officials said.

Crews have already completed similar lane shifts on I-440 West from the I-40/440 split to U.S. 64/264, and crews have been ripping up large portions of the highway.

Once it is pulled up, the asphalt will be crushed up and used in the asphalt plant that was built in the middle of the work zone. All of the highway being replaced will be recycled and put back down when crews begin repaving, officials said.

Once the inside lanes on I-440 East and West are repaved, crews will shift to the outside lanes.

Once the 3-mile stretch of I-440 is finished, crews will move on to the bigger piece of the Fortify project – replacing pavement on the stretch of I-40 that circles south of downtown Raleigh.

Work on bridges on I-40 has already started, officials said Friday. Crews have been doing nighttime prep work to widen bridges, and they are also continuing work to install a temporary bridge near the I-40/440 split that will allow trucks access to the asphalt plant and parts of the work zone without the trucks needing to use travel lanes.